Predictable
by Arctic Husky
Summary: Walter x Fenimore. After years of being apart from each other, two childhood friend reunite, however many things can change over the course of time: personalities, priorities, and emotions. How predictable. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter I

Inspiration hit, so I wrote. The result: I managed to write the full four chapters of this story while, y'know, not updating anything else. Heh, heh... It's yet another Walter x Fenimore story (because it inspires me, and because no one else here has written stories containing this pairing), but much more intense than my last little one-shot. As I've mentioned, this fic will contain four chapters; I will probably be updating once a week since everything is already written. So... enjoy the first chapter!

Disclaimer: Tales of Legendia has never been, and never shall be, owned by me.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX

_Predictable_

When I saw him fly into the Waterways, I was so excited. I knew that it was him despite the ways that he had changed and the Orerines garb that he wore. I was more thrilled to see him than I was to have my life saved. I hadn't seen him in years... not since the day that our village was attacked and I was taken prisoner. My heart fluttered as lightly as my teriques when our eyes met on that day. I could see his left eye—which wasn't covered by his hair—widen at the sight of me. _Surely,_ I thought, _he recognizes me._

But despite my certainty, he ignored me. He soared past me and approached Shirley. "Merines, are you all right?" he asked her frantically, not even bothering to ask about my well-being. My fluttering heart collapsed... it crashed and burned. Orerines didn't seem so bad right then, even though they were the ones pursuing us. At least they acknowledged my existence.

Walter helped Shirley and I get away. He led us into a concealed room and after fussing over Shirley for a bit, he insisted on going out and fighting off the Orerines some more. We couldn't do a thing to hold him back, so we were forced to sit in that lonely room and listen to the ensuing battles outside. Eventually the noises died down and Walter returned injured, practically unconscious. We knew right then to expect some unwanted visitors very soon. Walter collapsed by our feet, so Shirley and I were left to develop a plan of action. I didn't end up having much input into the plan, however, because Shirley was so ridiculously stubborn. She shoved a seashell into my hand, ordered me to think of Senel, and then ran off to be a decoy. I would have chased after her if not for Walter.

I looked down at the boy and sighed despondently. "Oh, Walter," I murmured, carefully lifting him to a sitting position and allowing his limp body to lean against me, my arm around him securely.

"Wh... where is the Merines?" he asked me, only half consciously.

"She's gone to distract Vaclav's forces," I replied truthfully, feeling no need to lie to him.

Apparently, though, I probably should have softened the truth. Walter jolted into a more conscious state and stared at me in disbelief. "What!" he exclaimed. I held onto him tighter; he was in no shape to stand. "How could you have let her go! Why didn't you follow her!"

My eyes narrowed into a glare and I hastily blurted out a response, "Senel will save her!" I closed my fingers tightly around the shell that Shirley had handed me as she left. _Senel, save us... Please, Senel..._

"_Senel_!" Walter spat, utterly irate. I wasn't fazed by him, though. "How can you, a Ferines, possibly place all of your faith in a filthy Orerines boy!"

"He _saved_ me, Walter! And he saved Shirley, too! And at this point..." I tightened my grip on the shell even more, "I can trust him more than I can trust you." I had to squeeze my eyes closed to try and refrain from crying.

Thankfully, before Walter had the chance to give me a painful lecture, Senel erupted into the room with his companions following him. I explained to them why I had Shirley's shell, and I returned it to Senel. The group of friends decided on retreating for the time being to help Walter, just as Shirley would have wanted them to do. With that choice made Walter was thrown atop an apparently tame galf, and we all found our way out of the Waterways. Once we had safely escaped, Walter forced himself to stand firmly on his own feet. "Why did you help me?" he hissed at the Orerines. I tried to calm him down, but he brushed me aside. One would have thought that he was seriously demanding an answer out of Senel, but he didn't even give him a chance to talk. "Let's take our leave, Fenimore."

"Wha...?" was all that I managed to utter before Water brought out his dark purple teriques, whose light enveloped me as well. Walter lifted himself into the air and took off, leaving me no option but to follow encased in his teriques.

_So he _did_ know that it was me... But why...? Why did you choose Shirley's well-being over mine, Walter? Don't I mean more to you than that?_

**XOXOXOXOXOX**

We landed on the ground by Maurits' Hermitage some time later. I was very anxious to finally be able to confront Walter and talk to him for a moment; however, in typical new-Walter style, he had no intentions of sitting still and conversing. Even to an old friend like me...

"I'm going to report to Maurits," he announced to me before marching into the area's sole building.

As I watched him disappear into the structure, I heaved a hopeless sigh. "I can't believe how _dense_ that boy is!" I snapped to myself, keeping my voice hushed so that the people nearby wouldn't hear me. They almost certainly noticed my frustration, though, because I was agitatedly kicking any rocks that I spotted on the ground. After about a half hour of waiting, Walter stepped out of the building looking rather resolved for some reason. I knew that if I myself had any resolve to talk to him, I would have to cut him off right then and there. "Walter!" I ran up to him and stepped directly in his pathway.

"I have to go and find the Merines," he stated, almost robotically.

I subconsciously balled up my fists as I blatantly glared at him. "Merines, Merines, Merines!" I shouted without any restraint. The few other Ferines around brought their attention towards us immediately, and Walter looked absolutely stunned by my outburst. I carried on despite the extra gazes that lay upon me. "_We_ grew up together, Walter! You and I—not Shirley! How is it that when we see each other for the first time in years, you just decide only to concern yourself with Shirley? You didn't even know that I was _alive_, for God's sake! You never even gave me a casual 'hello Fenimore'! Is that acceptable to you!"

Walter continued to stare at me, only at that point his gaze was completely void. "Hello, Fenimore," he spoke casually, mocking me, "Now goodbye. I have other things to attend to."

He sidestepped to get around me, and then walked forward and out of the region. I was left standing absolutely vacant of words, or even emotions for that matter. It was probably an appropriate instant to cry, but I just couldn't do it. I was upset beyond tears.

"Why would you upset Walter like that?"

I turned myself around to face the Ferines who had addressed me. My face must have radiated disbelief. "_Me_ upset _him_?" I had to clench my teeth together to keep from having an outburst on this anonymous woman, too.

The woman looked, undaunted, at me. "Yes," she spoke evenly, "Walter has the immense burden of being the Merines' personal guard. Why would you stray his thoughts from his duty like that?"

She was scolding me, and when I realized that fact there was no way that I was simply going to stand there and receive a ridiculous lecture. Without wasting any words, I rushed off in the direction opposite her, into the building where Maurits was. I didn't talk to him either, though; I simply hurried to the lower storey and remained there alone with my thoughts.

I didn't for a second feel pity for Walter as a result of my emotionally impulsive words. In my mind, I would continue to be the victim, and Walter was nothing more than an absurd, irrational jerk. I stayed locked up in the room downstairs with my constant and repetitive thoughts until a commotion came from above. I couldn't make any words out through the closed door; everything was muffled. I could only decipher that whatever was going on was a frenzied situation. As much as I wanted to only pity myself at that time, I had to be concerned for my people if they were suffering. With that on my mind, I opened the door and went up the stairs to find a small group of Ferines men having their rather severe wounds tended to. "What happened here!" I asked in fright without thinking.

"Oh, Fenimore," Maurits addressed me, "The quest for the Whisper Crystal failed horribly. Please, help us. There aren't enough people stationed at this base to take care of all of these injuries both swiftly and efficiently. We'll need your assistance."

I lowered my head doubtfully for a moment, but soon looked up with determination returning to me. "Of course!" I accepted his request without any more hesitation. I didn't need to know what exactly this 'Whisper Crystal' was or why they sought it; all I needed to know was that people were hurt and needed curing. That was something that I could help them in doing. Maurits gave me an appreciative nod and then carried on with taking care of the wounded person sitting by him.

I stepped up the final stair and glanced about the room. Most people seemed to have already had someone helping them... "Fenimore," a voice disrupted that thought and brought about another one: jerk, jerk, jerk! "Please pass me that roll of bandages."

I stared at Walter for a minute, with his arm outstretched and hand open, waiting for me to hand him the bandages that were easily within my reach. Once that minute passed, I simply rolled my eyes and sighed. "You think you're so strong, don't you?" I accused, gathering up not only the bandages, but also a few gels and herbs. Walter stared at me, perplexed, as I ranted on. "Sometimes you have to accept that you need someone else to help you when you can't help yourself," I forcefully gripped onto Walter's right arm, which had a rather deep gash running from his shoulder to just below his elbow; he flinched and groaned as I grasped him, "Such as when you need someone to take care of the wounds on your strong arm, instead of trying to do it yourself using your weak arm. I know that you're right-handed, Walter!" I carefully parted the torn fabric on his robe's sleeve and got a glimpse of just how critical his injury was. "May I tear the robe more?" I asked him for permission, which he granted by nodding. With his consent, I ripped the sleeve so that the cut was exposed and easy for me to access. I noticed that Walter was actually remaining silent and allowing me to do as I pleased for once. I think that my attitude may have become even rougher than he had been accustomed to. _Good,_ I thought, _Now I can talk._ I pulled a chair from the room's main table over to where Walter was sitting, and I placed all of the medical equipment that I would need on the floor between us. "I want to know..." my voice suddenly grew tentative. Maybe it wasn't right to question Walter's involvement in his duties; but I had already done that, hadn't I? "I want to know why you ignored me, Walter."

Walter chose to stare at the floor during our conversation. Part of me was extremely annoyed by that attitude, but another part of me was rather relieved that I wouldn't have to look him in the eye. "What could I have possibly said at that point?" he answered my inquiry with one of his own. How typical.

"Oh, jee, I dunno," I remarked sarcastically, "Maybe, 'Fenimore! I... I'm so happy to see you alive!' or something. Something other than..." my voice trailed off. My heart was feeling that dreadful sinking feeling again. "... '_Merines_, are you all right?' Maybe something addressing me, for just a second. I couldn't even be sure that you knew that it was me until you spoke my name later on." I picked up a lemon gel and began to spread the ooze over Walter's deep gash.

He still didn't look up, but when he spoke I could visualize his face as holding a desperate expression. "...Of course I knew that it was you, Fenimore."

I stopped what I was doing for a moment. "Wh—what?"

"It's impossible to forget the face of your oldest friend, no matter how much they change... no matter how much you yourself change."

His attitude absolutely shocked me. I had been accusing him of so many things in my mind, and here he was telling me that he could never forget me. I felt so guilty. "Wh..." I stammered out, "What am I supposed to say to that?" Walter simply continued to look downward. I was sincerely speechless. Although it was far too late to recover from the awkward silence, I tried to keep the situation remotely lively by slipping a healing herb into Walter's cut as it gradually mended thanks to the gel. I could feel him tense up, but not a sound came out of him. I hadn't realized how emotional I must have been right then. I couldn't even think of a valid reason for crying at that moment, but nonetheless that was what I did. I allowed sobs to escape my throat, but still tried to keep them hushed. Walter was not looking at me; perhaps he would not notice if he couldn't hear me. Perhaps no one would notice. Maybe even _I_ could ignore the tears rolling down from my eyes.

"Fenimore..."

Walter lifted his head to look at me. For a fleeting instant his eyes, full of concern and worry, caught mine, red and tearful. "D—don't move like that!" I scrambled for an excuse and reached down for the bandages on the floor, "I'm not done fixing up your wound yet." Walter turned his head away with an exasperated sigh. I did my best to disregard his frustration with me and to focus on my main task. I unraveled a good length of bandage and proceeded to wind them around Walter's arm. I stared intently at the gash that I was nursing. I focused on the bandages as they covered it up; I focused on the blood that seeped through the first layer or two, but then vanished as more layers stacked on. I focused on my fingers as they delicately secured the bandage into place as the roll reached its end. I let my hand linger there for a moment, to feel the fabric that now covered Walter's skin. I wondered if he could feel my touch through the thick layer of bandage. More so than that, I wondered what his skin actually felt like... _I've been confined to a cell for far too long,_ I concluded as an explanation for my strange urges. "There," I spoke aloud to let Walter know that he was free to leave if he desired to. Apparently my crying had ceased, because my voice did not crack at all.

"Thank you." He didn't budge from his seat, nor did he say anything more. I continued to sit there feeling rather uncomfortable in that silence, however I couldn't bring myself to leave just then. "Is there anything that you want to talk about?" Walter asked me spontaneously, "It's not as though I can go anywhere for a while..."

There it was again; that tightening in my throat that told me that wails wanted to pour out through my lips, that tears wanted to fall. I couldn't understand what on earth possessed me to cry at these irrelevant times. "N...No," I answered regrettably. As soon as I spoke, my voice wavered. "I need to leave," I stated hastily, practically jumping to my feet and sprinting out of the room.

I knew that he wouldn't follow me, and I was thankful for that. He hadn't seen me cry since we were children and a turtle bit my finger, and I did not want him to see me then. At least as a child I had a valid reason for crying, but I could not even explain my sadness as I ran away from him. I knew that I wanted to confront Walter again, and I knew that I had probably just had the perfect opportunity to do so, but I couldn't to it. The entire situation was so frustrating to me. I knew that I wanted to say something, but I wasn't sure what. I felt as though I needed to cry, but I couldn't pinpoint why. I was sure that I wanted to speak right then, but it wasn't the right time. I was forced to wait, and to watch for the ideal time to come up again.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX

And there is chapter one. I hope that you enjoyed it and will continue to read the upcoming chapters as well! And maybe even review.

As an aside, I will most likely be changing my penname before the next update of this story. So... be ready for that!


	2. Chapter II

It's a little later than I had originally promised, but here it is nonetheless: chapter two of _Predictable_! And under my new penname of Arctic Husky. Oh yes. I love the winter cold, and I love huskies. Anyway, I won't waste any more time before presenting chapter two, expect to say that this chapter contains... little spoilers. Nothing major plotwise, but if you don't know about the war that occurs during the game, then you probably shouldn't read this chapter.

**XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX**

Walter and I avoided each other for the remaining time that we spent at the Ferines base. At least, I know that _I_ was avoiding _him_. It wasn't much longer that we remained at the hermitage, however. War was fast approaching, and it seemed that everything was in place to take down Vaclav's forces and to rescue Shirley. I couldn't wait to have her back for a couple of reasons: I wanted to be able to spend more time with her without any threats or ugly situations around us, and I also wanted her to be secured safely in our village so that Walter could relax his duties a little.

Everyone of age in our race who lived on the Legacy went to the frontlines. Men were to go into battle while women were to play the roles of helpers, which basically meant that we would nurse the wounded, relay messages, and other tasks along those lines. In addition to us Ferines, there were also many Orerines on the battlefield, and they were on our side. This shocked many of my people, especially when they found that many of the Orerines would show them just as much compassion during rough moments as they would their own race. I think that for that fleeting time, there was not an exaggerated rift between us.

There was another army that was part of our alliance, and that was the army under Walter's command. He controlled what were called sentinels, which were small robot guardians that could really deal more damage than one would expect when looking at them. From the time that Walter began commanding that troop of robots, one of them persistently followed me around like my own personal bodyguard. I initially didn't think too much of it, since there had been sentinels wandering around everywhere, but once the battle began and that automaton remained by my side I grew rather suspicious. I wanted to ask Walter about it despite my efforts to steer clear of him, but I had no idea where he was. There weren't too many people left at the main camp; most Ferines and Rexalian troops were either already dispatched, or were taking time to train. Senel's group had been assigned the task of infiltrating Vaclav's front forces.

I meandered around our camp area until I caught sight of Maurits. _He would know where Walter is,_ I mused. With another passing thought, I glanced behind me to find the automaton still following closely. Sometimes, I could've sworn that that thing was staring at me. With a sigh, I turned forward again and approached Maurits. He wasn't doing much at the time, which seemed typical of a leader during a time like war. "Maurits," I spoke his name to get the man's attention.

He turned to me. "What is it, Fenimore?" he sounded rather calm. I guessed that the battle was going smoothly for our side thus far.

"Do you happen to know where Walter is?" I inquired.

The old Ferines glanced at the sentinel behind me, and then back at me. "Doing some maintenance on the sentinels, I believe. Why is that one with you?"

"That's what I wanted to ask him about," I answered, sparing another glimpse at the mini-automaton. It was still hovering there silently, facing me for what felt like forever. I sighed at it again. "Where specifically is Walter working?"

Maurits lifted his arm and pointed towards a first aid tent that was set up a little ways down. "If you just continue past that large tent you should eventually notice the massive horde of robotic fighters." He said this last part with a laugh, as though what he had said was hilarious, so I let out a small chuckle just to make sure that Maurits felt that his 'joke' was understood... although still a very, _very_ bad joke.

"Um... Thank you, Maurits. I'll be going now," I added that 'goodbye' just for formality, considering whom I was addressing. He gave a casual wave to bid me farewell as I turned away and began trekking to and past the first aid tent that Maurits had indicated. As soon as I stepped by the tent, everything grew decreasingly lively. The numerous huts that were set up around the camp suddenly vanished, and there were no people within my forward vision. I stopped for a moment and took in the surroundings. It was very bleak; a grey ground with a rugged surface whose height varied from place to place. The faint sound of buzzing floated into my ears, which I identified as the movement of sentinels. I looked at the sentinel that continued to follow me no matter where I went. "Is that you, or your brothers?" I asked it with an amused smile. Once I spoke that sentence, however, I paused with a silence that felt awkward even though I was basically alone. I brought a hand to my forehead, "Oh, now I'm _talking_ to it." I shook my head to myself to try and clear the apparently strange thoughts in my head.

I heard those robotic hums again and managed to identify that they were coming from the area left of me, behind a particularly tall line of jagged ground. I climbed over the rocky area and immediately found my vision to be greeted by hundreds of sentinels identical to my personal stalker. I weaved through the crowds and found that none of the automata paid even the slightest bit of attention to me. Again, my skepticism of my sentinel follower rose. There were some Ferines people amongst the gathering of robots. They were all looking over the units' components and making repairs or improvements where they saw fit. I focused my attention on the Ferines and tried to ignore all of the non-human entities. Near the front of the rows upon rows of sentinels, I spotted Walter. He was peering over the shoulder of a Ferines who was working on one of the automata. I could see that Walter was giving instructions to the other man. Both of them appeared extremely stressed out.

Despite the fact that my head was screaming at me to leave them to their work, I walked up to Walter with little reluctance. "Walter, I want to ask—"

"Not now, Fenimore," he responded beyond immediately.

My assumptions that he was feeling rather frazzled were apparently accurate. I knew that he would give me some half-assed answer if I asked him my question right then. "Is there anything that I can help with?" I made an attempt at relaxing Walter; apparently it didn't pass extremely well.

"No, Fenimore. Just... please leave." Under normal circumstances I would have objected, because there was obviously _some_ way that I could have assisted him. But that was no normal circumstance; not only was there an ongoing war between the alliance and Vaclav's forces, but there was also a serious tension between Walter and myself. I turned and began to walk away. I heard Walter heave a sigh from behind me. "Wait," he ordered, and I complied, turning around to face him. "Everyone has been working really hard nonstop to ensure the automata's prime conditions. None of us have had a moment to rest, or even to eat; I think that some food would raise everyone's spirits a little bit."

I nodded enthusiastically, my face brightened by a grin. "Right! I'll get right on that!" Walter gave me a tired smile before I turned away again and hurried off. I prepared a variety of simple meals that could be transported to the maintenance area rather easily. It took a few trips back and forth to get enough food there to serve all of the workers, but it would have taken even longer had I not had my sentinel stalker with me. After delivering all but one of the meals in the last batch, I went back to searching for Walter once again. I finally found him working on an automaton, so I carried the final meal over to him. "Enjoy your meal," I announced with a chipper voice, holding out the plate of food.

Walter stared up at me perplexedly for a moment. "I don't have time to eat right now," he responded, looking back down at the sentinel and fidgeting with its robotic innards.

"Oh, please!" I retorted, "You're the one who suggested that I get food, so you yourself had obviously felt hungry. Now get your hands out of that robot and eat!"

He lowered his head with an exasperated sigh. "You word things so badly..."

In defeat, he looked up again and took the plate out of my hands, promptly stuffing his face full of food. _Jeez, he just couldn't admit that he was starving..._ I kept quiet until Walter polished off his plate. I didn't leave, because I still wanted to ask him about the sentinel following me around. Thankfully he wolfed down his meal rapidly, so I didn't have terribly long to wait to voice my question. I didn't give him a chance to speak after he finished eating before I straightforwardly blurted out, "Why is this sentinel of yours being my shadow?"

Walter's eyes immediately darted away, almost with humiliation. "...I ordered it to," he hesitantly replied.

I looked over to the automaton for a moment. "And why is that?" I felt the corner of my mouth turning up into a smirk, "To protect me?"

"You're getting far too comfortable in the presence of Orerines," Walter explained bluntly, "I don't trust them as much as you do, and so I want to see that you will be safe if something goes wrong." All that I could bring myself to do in that instant was smile, so ecstatic to know that Walter actually sought to protect me in addition to Shirley. Another Ferines walked up to Walter, gave me a strange look, and then whispered something into Walter's ear. He nodded to show that he understood what the Ferines had said, and then the man walked away. "It's time to deploy the sentinel units," Walter explained to me.

"Wh—what?" I stammered out unsurely, my smile failing me, "You're joining the night raid so late? Is it worth it?"

Walter shook his head; I wasn't sure what he meant by that gesture. Was he saying that it wasn't worth it? Was he disappointed in my attitude? Was he torn? "It isn't a matter of whether or not it's worth it; it is a matter of how swiftly we can reach the bridge and infiltrate it." My 'disappointed' guess seemed closest to reality. "We do not have time to be too hesitant. We must reach the Merines before it's too late." He handed me back his empty plate, "Thank you for the meal, Fenimore. It's greatly appreciated."

"Again with the Merines!" I suddenly exclaimed, tossing the plate to the ground in a fit. I didn't hear it shatter, which made me suddenly realize just how loud the battlefield was. "I don't want to see you risk your life for this," I had to bite my lower lip as I felt it tremble. _Not again..._

"Risk my life for our future, Fenimore. If the Merines dies, then it's only a matter of time before our entire race dies!" Walter scolded me, "Do you honestly believe that my life would be more important than the Ferines people as a whole?"

"Yes!"

I gasped at myself after uttering that simple word; Walter shared an equally surprised reaction. I certainly didn't regret saying it, but I was still shocked that I had allowed myself to. In fact, I allowed myself to keep going and elaborate, "I don't think that it's worth having to almost _willingly_ lose my oldest friend for a bunch of individuals who don't mean nearly as much to me."

Walter gave me sad eyes, more pitying than remorseful. "Fenimore..." he almost sighed my name out hopelessly.

"N—Nevermind." I brought my finger up to my mouth and chewed the nail anxiously for a moment, catching Walter's bleak gaze. I turned away suddenly and dashed off, giving a squeaky "bye!" as I ran. Once I climbed over the jagged barrier that separated the sentinel army from desolateness, I stopped running. I leaned my back against the rocky wall and took a few moments to catch my breath. A great cheer rose up from behind me. I dared to turn around and peer through into where the sentinel army was stationed. All of the automata were rushing forward. I saw Walter in the centre of the mayhem, his arm pointing towards the bridge, the Whisper Crystal by his side.

**XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX**

I hope that that was enjoyable for you all! Kind of an abrupt ending, but with the way that Fenimore and Walter interact in this story, it makes sense. Two more chapters to be posted! I'll try and get the next one up by next week. Please review!


	3. Chapter III

There never really is much to say before posting a chapter, but I feel the need to give an author's note anyway... Uh, I guess I should say that there are a few spoilers for the beginning of chapter five. Otherwise—enjoy!

**XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX**

The war passed; we survived and we won. Life went on. I returned to the Legacy's Ferines village. Shirley, Walter, and my twin sister Thyra settled down there, as well. I could see that things were going so peacefully for everyone; it made me feel at ease. I didn't feel as though I was needed on the Legacy anymore, now that everyone was so serene. I decided that I would return to my hometown, back on the mainland. No one would be joining me, and that was fine by me. I had had so many horrible experiences on the Legacy that I was ready to start over again.

It didn't take long for my plans to change, though. When I found out that Senel would be going to the Ferines village to see Shirley, I had to be there. It proved to be a good thing that I stayed behind, because Shirley was absolutely devastated after she had the chance to have a heart-to-heart with Senel. She used to call him her brother, but from the moment that I met Shirley through a concrete cell wall, I could tell that she loved him in a way far beyond family love. When she tried to admit this to him, however, he shot her down. He wouldn't even allow her to let out her confession of love—he cut her off.

I was sitting in the tent where Shirley had been living in the village. I waited in suspense as she went to meet Senel and speak with him. It was rather tempting, knowing that they were about a three-minute walk away from where I was, but I refrained from going up and eavesdropping. It was a long and nerve-racking fifteen minutes before Shirley returned. She came running into the tent, her big blue eyes drowning in tears, and collapsed next to me on the bed. No words needed to be exchanged to explain what had happened. Nonetheless, I allowed Shirley to be surrounded by my arms as she sobbed out the entire story in devastation.

As she finished telling me the events, we sent words back and forth in a much calmer manner. Shirley had been cried out. Sometime as we spoke, I slipped the word 'friend' into a sentence; for some reason that surprised Shirley immensely. I asked her why, and she answered that she had never had a friend before. It was then my turn to be amazed. "You've never had any friends?" I questioned in disbelief.

"No," she replied, shaking her head to back up her point, "Never."

_It's impossible for forget the face of your oldest friend,_ I remembered Walter telling me. All at once, I felt so honoured. I let Shirley stay in my arms for a while longer, and I was relieved to find that she was actually relaxing a little despite what had just happened. "Shirley?" I uttered her name tentatively. The girl looked up at me, her eyes now swollen and red, but dry. "Would you mind if I asked you a... tough question?"

She didn't hesitate for an instant to give me her answer. "Not at all. We're friends, Fenimore," she sounded tremendously jubilant as she spoke, "You can ask me anything."

I smiled at her, even though my question was not one to be asked with a grin on my face. I just couldn't help it, I felt so happy for her. "If you could go back in time to before you spoke with Senel, would you go through with telling him your feelings again? I mean... Do you regret telling him?"

Shirley appeared thoughtful for a moment. I was relieved that mentioning the topic of Senel did not bring tears to her eyes again. "I... would do it again in a second," she responded with a firm voice, "I don't regret it at all."

That was exactly what I wanted to hear. In a way. My mind was no longer jumping around, which was a relief, but my stomach had begun doing the jumping and twisting. A sense of nervousness rushed through my body. Shirley wouldn't be the only one to confront someone that night. "Thank you," I said to the Merines, my friend. "I almost hate to say this, but I have to go now, Shirley. I need to talk with someone." She nodded understandingly at me, which I took as her 'goodbye'. I pressed my palms against the bed, pushed myself to my feet and began walking towards the tent's exit.

"Fenimore," Shirley's voice interrupted as I pulled aside the tent's cloth door. I turned my head to the side so that I could see Shirley as she addressed me. "Good luck." I froze for a brief moment, wondering how she could have known what I was about to do. Then I considered that she had just gone through with exactly the same thing. I gave her a grateful smile before turning away again and exiting the tent.

The village looked absolutely deserted so late at night. Most of the huts scattered around were full of darkness, but there were a few lights present in some windows. From where I stood I could see that there were lights on in my tent of destination, even though it was a good walk away. I began my trek immediately and did my best to close all thoughts from my mind. I didn't want to deter myself from what I had to say before I was even standing before him. My best attempts at keeping a clear mind didn't work so well, though. As my feet subconsciously continued walking forward, my mind wandered to the place that I was trying to avoid.

_How can I say it? I can't just... say that I think that I feel something for him. How could I do that? It's not possible. Will I even have to say that much before he gathers my point? Surely he's already noticed the hints. My jealousy, my concern, my careless remarks... He isn't dense, only ignorant. He'll ignore as long as something isn't directly confronted. I have to directly confront it, or else I'll never know. And never knowing must be much worse than rejection; rejection leaves none of the 'what ifs' that can be so haunting._

My mind came to a halt as my destination materialized in front of me. I brought my gaze to the ground for a moment, and then looked forward again. There was no point in turning away then. I pulled the tent door to the side and let myself in; there were no solid doors to knock on or doorbells to ring, so everyone in our village had to be prepared to receive visitors at any time. "Walter?" I spoke his name as I slowly stepped inside.

He was sitting at a table with a pen in hand and semi-blank book in front of him. He looked up as I addressed him. "Fenimore, what are you doing here—?"

"I need to talk to you," I professed, interrupting him as I helped myself to a seat on his bed. Walter gave a sigh as he placed his pen down and closed the book. He didn't budge from his seat across the room, which drove me to take my turn to sigh. "Come over here," I ordered as I patted the space next to me. Walter stared dully at me for a while before getting up and complying with my demand.

"I thought that you were going home..." he said unsurely... sadly, even?

"I was," I then continued, explaining, "But I found out that Senel was going to be coming here to see Shirley, so..."

Walter eyes narrowed, "What? Is she not done thinking about that Orerines?"

I closed my fingers into a fist around a piece of Walter's bedding. "If that's who she loves, then she shouldn't have to be apart from him."

He continued to glower, "Love _him_?"

My fingers tightened around the sheets. "Yes, why? Does that upset you?" I could feel my heart growing impatient. Jealousy was taking me over. "Do you want her to love _you_ or something?" I spat the words out before I could try to hold them back.

"Don't do this again," Walter spoke as though he were warning me, "It is my job to protect her from people like him. Orerines cannot be of any benefit to the duties of the Merines. She will not be able to complete her transformation if Senel is clouding her thoughts."

"Then isn't that enough of a reason to have him around?" I could feel Walter looking at me sceptically. "I've already told you where my priorities lie. I don't want to see either you or Shirley sacrifice yourselves."

Walter let out a light 'hmph', crossing his arms over his torso. "So now it's both Shirley and I. I don't remember the Merines being mentioned by you before."

I took some time to reminisce about the last conversation that Walter and I had had, at the frontlines. _Wow, was it that long ago?_ I thought for a moment, before moving on to recalling what we had talked about at that time. I had said that I didn't want to see my oldest friend—Walter, of course—be lost for the sake of the Ferines in general, people whom I don't necessarily feel close to. I still stood by that, but I added Shirley. I knew right away that I had really grown much closer to Shirley since we actually had a chance to spend time together under regular circumstances; and the conversation that we had had just before I had gone to see Walter had also strengthened our friendship and trust in each other. "Now, I can definitely see that Shirley will always have a special place in my heart," I finally spoke, breaking out of my reflections, "She told me... that I'm the first friend that she's ever had. Can you believe that? Fifteen, and she's never had a friend in her life." I looked over to Walter, and he returned my gaze. I could tell that he was also surprised that Shirley had never had a friend.

When people meet Walter, they probably immediately label him as someone who had never had a friend in his life; but he always did, in me. Clearly the people who judged him never saw the antics that the two of us put on as children—well, it was mostly me who put on the antics while Walter watched. He had become so much more independent since the time when I was captured; so much more of a leader. It continued to astonish me in an inexplicably appealing way.

"When she told me that," I spoke again, "I immediately remembered what you had said to me, about never forgetting your oldest friend. I had associated that with childhood, but there are actually people who grow up without friends. And I..." I lingered in silence, suddenly desiring to blurt something out but knowing that it was not an appropriate time, "I'm so lucky to have two amazing people to see me as their oldest friends. Two amazing people who will never forget me."

Walter turned his head slightly away from me, so that when I looked at him all I could see was the hair that fell over his right eye. I was tempted to place a hand on either side of his head and turn it so that he had to face me. I seriously disliked being unable to read his emotions. Walter always had a rather monotonous voice despite whatever he was feeling, so through time I grew accustomed to judging his expressions. He knew that, so when he didn't want me to know what he was feeling, he would turn away. "You never explained why you're _still_ here."

I sighed and look downwards, seeing no point in using my energy to keep my chin up. "I want to settle down and live the typical, 'normal' life," I answered drearily, feeling so very torn because I was just then realizing that I wasn't sure how I would ever reach that goal that seemed so simple, "That's why I was planning on going back home. But if I returned to the mainland, then I sure as hell wouldn't be able to live normally. I would be left with so many unanswered questions and ghosts of the past, and I would be left without my sister, my closest friends, and my..." I glanced up at Walter again to find his head tilted down, eyes most likely focussed on the floor. "…And my... you."

"Why are you doing this?" Walter asked me forlornly. He lifted his head up but still refused to look at me. He knew exactly what it was that I was feeling, and he didn't want to hear it. I should have been devastated, but I wasn't. I knew Walter too well. "All that you're trying to tell me is just going to become a predominant thought in my already thought-crammed head. It's going to distract me."

Growing impatient of his averting attitude, I slid off of the bed and onto the floor and looked up at Walter, sitting in front of him. "From what?" I inquired, "Shirley's safe and sound here now. You've protected her," my eyes began to burn, but I barely noticed it. I was too close to run away now. "Your duty is done. You can stop." Walter's face held his expression of sympathy again. He always seemed to pity me when I got into a pathetic and desperate state. Who could blame him? "Please, Walter," I reached my hand up to where Walter had his arms crossed. I had to search through his folded arms to find his hand, but once I did I held onto it tightly. "Please give it a rest."

Walter stared down at me dismally. I felt his hand close around mine. "Get off of the floor, Fenimore." I shook my head in defiance, foreseeing that he would just pull his look-off-in-the-other-direction stunt again. He rolled his eyes at me. "Fine," he murmured, soon joining me down on the floor. "Listen," he actually looked me in the eye as he spoke, and since he was talking to me directly I paid him an equal amount of attention, "The dangers aren't done with yet. Until everything is absolutely finished, there will be threats. My duty will not be complete until it's entirely over."

I closed my eyes and allowed myself to fall forward against Walter. "Why can't I just live normally? Just for a little bit?" I asked to anyone who would listen, not necessarily Walter. "I just spent _years_ in a prison cell. The only times that I was ever allowed out were to suffer," my voice was droning; such terrible situations had become so normal to me, it must have seemed strange to hear. "I was tortured, raped, beaten... And now..." I let my arms encircle Walter, holding onto him tightly, "...Things still don't feel better. Help me make it better."

I couldn't see his action, but I guessed that he shook his head at me. "I don't know what it is that you expect me to do," he said solemnly, "But whatever it is, I can tell you right now to not get your hopes up. You'll be better off doing as you originally planned, going back to the mainland. There's nothing left for you here."

I gripped onto him even more persistently. "But there's even less than nothing for me in our hometown," I insisted. There was no chance of me giving up without a reasonable explanation. "I won't be able to lead that normal life that I seek anywhere else, because I'll never be able to trust anyone new again. I've already met the people whom I trust, and if they're here, then I have to stay here as well." I was surprised at myself. Even though I must have appeared weak, clinging onto Walter helplessly, I wasn't crying. My eyes were completely dry.

"But it was the Orerines that brought you so much pain." Walter was so stubborn. No matter what the deepest meaning of our conversation was, he would bring it back to a racial problem.

I loosened the hold that my arms had around Walter, and then pulled away from him slightly. "Not every crime or moment of suffering is based on race. You were on the battlefield. You saw it: our Orerines allies fighting Vaclav's Orerines forces." I heaved an agitated sigh, feeling just how utterly pointless this mention of race was, "_Anyone_ can hurt _anyone_." I let go of Walter for an instant so that I could pinch his face, the only spot where his skin was bare. He let out a small yelp of surprise and flinched, pulling away. "See? Ferines hurting Ferines." I brought my hand up to his left cheek that I had pinched, caressing it subtly, "I could never feel comfortable being close to anyone if there was even the slightest chance that they would take advantage of their ability to hurt me, take advantage of me. I know that _you_ wouldn't do that to me."

I looked up slightly to see into Walter's eyes; they were utterly indifferent. A sudden flare of embarrassment washed over me. I dropped my hand into my lap and then stood up, fully prepared to walk out and never show my face to Walter again. As I briskly began to head towards the doorway, I heard Walter quickly rise to his feet and follow me. Just as I stepped through the fabric door, he threw his arms around my waist from behind. His hold was tight, almost constricting. He wasn't holding me—he was holding me back. "Turn around."

"No way," I answered, "I'd prefer to avoid making a fool of myself again."

Walter abruptly released me from his grasp. I would have run away right then, but I hadn't expected him to relinquish so easily. Apparently he wasn't giving up, however. He simply stepped around me so that he was blocking my escape. His arms surrounded me, held me roughly. My eyes widened in disbelief as he brought his face closer to mine until our lips touched without the reservations that I would have expected. I let myself close my eyes as I focussed on nothing but the sensation of a mutual kiss. I will never understand why he did it; getting my hopes up, making me blissful for a few moments. His intentions were unreadable—even his body contradicted itself. His lips felt so tender against mine, but the way that he held onto me was still so forceful.

He pulled away from me with an exaggerated slowness, which to me was equivalent to reluctance. "I know that you believe that I would never hurt you, Fenimore" Walter released me from his grip and took a step backwards. He turned his head away, hiding his expressions yet again. "But that... meant nothing to me." Without looking at me, he walked back into his home, probably expecting me to walk away dejectedly.

I lived up to the expectation of walking away, however I wasn't even remotely upset. "You're such a liar," I muttered while smirking to myself.

**XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX**

I like this chapter. It was fun to write; heh, heh. Any and all reviews are appreciated! I'll try and get the final chapter up in a week or so! (Then, I should really get to work on my other fics...)


	4. Chapter IV

Although there were no reviews for the last chapter, I still wanted to post the ending to this fic—so here it is. Now, hopefully I'll actually get around to working on a few of those other fan fictions of mine...

**XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX**

I wandered through the hallways of the Altar of the Sea. When I had originally walked through the passageways with the other Ferines accompanying Shirley, I hadn't taken any time to absorb my surroundings. When I took the time to look at everything closely I was truly amazed by how beautiful the altar was. There were intricate patterns engraved into every inch of the floors and walls, coral naturally spouted from place to place, and there were pools of water scattered around everywhere.

From before the time that we arrived at the altar, I had remained at Shirley's side. I had been sitting nearby as Shirley struggled to move on to the next stage of the Rite of Accession. The process had been taking so long, but I was not willing to leave. Eventually Maurits had approached me and insisted that I take a break, stretch my legs. I had refused at first, but Maurits was very unrelenting. I gave in, told Shirley that I would be back soon, and went to explore the altar region.

Walter and I had been avoiding each other again—no surprises there. We had had another awkward moment, so of course we decided to take the easy way out and not address the matter at all. We both may have had rather tough and confident exteriors, but we could prove to be absolute cowards at times.

I walked over to one of the tide pools and gazed down into it. It looked much deeper than I had expected. I sat down by the water and skimmed its surface with the tips of my fingers. It was an ideal temperature, neither unbearably cold nor grotesquely hot; a little on the cool side, really. The corner of my mouth turned upwards into a smile. Maurits had advised me to stretch my legs, but he hadn't specified that I had needed to do so by walking. I brought my right knee to my chest and reached down to the bottom of my dress. I brought my hand up to the top of my boot, unzipped it, and then slipped it off of my foot. I removed my second boot, and then dipped both of my feet into the water. I swayed my lowers legs lightly, enjoying the resistance that the water offered. I briefly wondered if it was possible for a Ferines to dislike the water, or worse—to fear it. I would have actually been interested in seeing a Ferines who was scared by water. It would be entertaining. But that's certainly a mean way to think, isn't it?

I soon felt my skin adjusting to the water's temperature, and so I dithered no longer and simply let my body slip into the deep pool. I let the water take deeper and deeper slowly; my lungs continued to fill with air in a way that only sea creatures could manage. That is what us Ferines truly are—creatures of the sea. I always felt so at home underwater, even in strange seas that I had never swam in before. The particular body of water that I had been in at that time was different than any I had been in before. When I first entered it, the wall surrounding me was very narrow, barely fitting my upright body through the tunnel-like passage. Soon enough, however, that tunnel dispersed and I was surrounded by an open space that seemed to extend endlessly, like the ocean.

Once I lowered into that open area, I began to swim around and explore. There was not too much life in the region; in fact, most living things there were plants. I saw a few schools of fish traveling through the waters, as well, but they appeared to be on a mission. I figured that perhaps this was an underwater cavern within the larger ocean that probably served as a safe shortcut for some animals.

I continued to swim around, carefree. There may not have been too many fascinating things to observe, but it was such a serene area that I could not possibly leave after such little time. I even managed to let go of my thoughts of the challenge that Shirley was enduring at that very time.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the movement of another human-sized being. I immediately assumed that it was a very large fish passing through the area, or perhaps a shark. I looked towards where I saw the shadow to find that it had swum from that general area. Curiosity taking over me, I swam in that direction and scanned every corner that I could see. It was only when I looked upwards that I saw the silhouette again. It was swimming up into one of the tunnels that led to the surface. _Oh, it's a Ferines,_ I concluded, knowing of no other being that could breathe both on land and in water. The presence of another Ferines reminded me of Shirley's ordeal. I decided to follow them aboveground to ask if they knew how things were going for Shirley.

I propelled myself up the channel that I had seen the Ferines swim up through. I broke the surface of the water soundlessly. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the new lighting and thinness of the earthly environment. Once I could see clearly, I lifted myself up onto the land and began to wring out my soaked hair, not even bothering to consider the fact that the Ferines who had already surfaced was not expecting someone to be following them—my mistake!

"Delques!"

"Aah, Walter, don't kill me!!"

"...Fenimore?"

I opened my eyes which I had squeezed shut at the sight of Walter's bleak purple teriques. With open eyes, all that I found within my vision was my arm being held over my eyes, still shielding myself from Walter's impending attack. I lowered that, and finally the Ferines boy could be seen by me. "Yeah. It's me," I recovered from my speechlessness, "Please never do that again." Walter simply turned his head away from me in response. I don't think that he could have made it any more obvious that he was still feeling extremely uncomfortable around me unless he came right out and said it. I wasn't particularly concerned with his apprehension, though; I had no problems waiting to see how this confrontation was going to turn out. "Shouldn't you be guarding Shirley?" I asked him, interrupting the silence.

"There are other fighters with her right now," he answered straightforwardly. I guessed that he wanted to get this conversation done and over with as quickly as he could. "I was given a break. But I should really be returning now." He tried to walk away from me right then, however there was no chance of that happening. I reached out towards him and got a hold on his trailing cape. As a result of being pulled back in such a manner, Walter stumbled, but managed to remain on his feet. "Fenimore, let me go."

I shook my head in defiance, "Oh, no no! You're not getting away this time." I tugged back on the cape, forcing Walter to either come a little closer to me or to fall down. He chose to move with the force. Without letting go of him for fear that he would run away childishly, I attempted to make conversation once again, "So how was Shirley doing the last time that you saw her?" The deepest corridors of my mind were elsewhere; _He looks really, _really_ good when he's wet like that... Wait! What am I thinking?! Stop that!_

"She was still in the same state as earlier. For some reason she's showing no change." He had answered very seriously with a lot of disquiet in his voice. I felt guilty for having been thinking about Walter's looks instead of the trial that my friend was undergoing. "We don't know what more we can do to ensure the completion of her transformation."

I finally released the hold that I had had on Walter's cape. He actually seemed to be interested in talking with someone. Once he felt that I had released him, he turned around to face me. "You can't do anything else," I told him, "At this point it's entirely up to Shirley. If deep down she doesn't want to do it, then she won't do it." Sometimes I felt as though I was the only person with common sense in that entire altar region. Walter shifted his eyes to their corners with an air of uncertainty. He knew that I was making sense. The entire Merines matter was clearly taking its toll on Walter; all that he was concerned with was her safety and the transformation being completed. He was supposed to be taking a break from his duties, so what was he doing _venting_ about his duties? I had to change the subject, whether he thought that he wanted to or not. "I couldn't help but notice that you've been avoiding me as of late."

"Oh, please don't..."

I stood up to look at Walter evenly. "What?" I retorted, narrowing my right eye slightly in an inquisitive manner, "So you have been?" my heart began to beat noticeably quicker than usual; I realized that I was on one of my overly frank rants and that I wasn't stopping before I was done, "Why is that? Oh, I know. It must be because you spontaneously kissed me and assumed that by lying about how it meant nothing to you, you had hurt my feelings." I took a couple of steps towards Walter; he took a couple of steps back. "Fess up! You liked it!"

Walter fumbled for words, but could not get any out. What could he say to that outburst, anyway? I doubted that he could even interpret whether I was being serious or not. _I_ couldn't even tell if I was being serious, or just teasing him senselessly. I decided to take that mixture of seriousness and joking and run with it.

"So..." a light smile played on my face as I remembered how I used to act when we were children; before Walter was consumed by his duties, before our village was attacked, before I was captured, before I felt the way that I did right then, "Do you want to go swimming?"

Walter looked at me solemnly. "Fenimore," he sighed, "No..."

I bit my lower lip, embarrassed for myself, but not giving in. "I know, I know!" My voice cracked slightly every few words as I spoke. I felt ashamed of myself. "It's so ridiculous, isn't it? I always thought that it was just a stupid cliché, falling in love with a childhood friend..." there was no turning back, "But I guess that some clichés can be true, can't they? And I can't help what I feel, or what I've said to you since we were reunited." I looked down at the ground and watched as a tear fell from each of my eyes. "I had pushed Shirley so hard in her pursuit of love, but I could never gather up the straightforward courage to help myself until just now," I lifted my head and held a hand over my eyes to pitifully hide the fact that I was finally crying, "I'm not expecting you to return my feelings in any way, but I won't take back everything that I've told you, or the meanings behind my words. I..." I stroked my tears aside. No one should have tears in their eyes as they say words that are meant to be happy, "I really believe that I love you."

"I can't say that I return your certainty, Fenimore," Walter spoke honestly, and even though it wasn't what I wanted to hear, I was grateful. Tears streamed down my cheeks again. "I don't know that I'll ever be able to fully see you as something more than that childhood friend."

I nodded slowly, "And I can't say that I'm surprised by that," I admitted sullenly, "It's... okay."

Walter stepped forward in the direction of the pool of water that led into the vast, open sea. As he passed by me, he grasped my hand tenderly in his. I was absolutely perplexed. He looked down into the water, and as he did he let go of me. "...Try and catch me, Fenimore."

"Huh?" My eyes widened in disbelief as Walter dived straight down into the underwater passage. For a moment I was unsure what to do, but I couldn't afford to hesitate too long. "Walter..."

I leapt in after him, swimming as fast as I could manage to catch up. When we reached the open area, Walter looked back at me for an instant before swimming away with all of his energy. I still followed, closer than I had been previously. I stretched my arms out forward, trying desperately to reach him; I was so close, but couldn't quite touch him. I gathered all of the determination that I had and sped up until we were side by side. We both slowed down and looked at each other, panting from the exhaustion of the race. I swam closer to Walter and brought my arms around his neck; I felt his arms encircle my waist and his hands rest on my back. We leaned closer to each other and let our lips meet without any reluctance. I closed my eyes and left them that way as we parted in unison. I held onto Walter tightly, refusing to open my eyes and perceive the sea's judgment. "Walter," my voice quivered, "Is the water glowing...?"

Walter held onto me just as securely as I held him. I felt his lips gently brush over mine before he answered me, "...No. It isn't."

At this, my eyes snapped open. It was true; the water was absolutely dull, empty. It was only us as we would be on land. "Wh—Why not?!" I shouted hysterically, looking up at Walter with frantic eyes, "Why won't it glow for us?!" I gripped onto Walter's forearms firmly, "Walter!"

He shook his head at me as he was prone to doing when I was being pathetic and desperate. "The sea won't grant us its blessing," as though accepting that fact, Walter calmly slipped his arms out of my grasp, "This isn't meant to be, Fenimore."

As Walter began to drift away from me, I grabbed onto him again. "No!" I objected, "Why do we have to listen to the water?!" I couldn't tell whether or not I was crying again because the water would have concealed my tears, "Wouldn't we know and feel who we are destined to be with? These are our lives!" My throat was stinging and felt unbelievably thick. I couldn't understand how I could still speak coherently. "Shouldn't we be the ones controlling them?!"

"In some ways we just aren't," Walter spoke so evenly that it seemed as though this turn of events didn't perturb him at all. I was actually growing enraged with his attitude, but I couldn't bring myself to express it. "I believe the sea when it tells us that somehow this isn't our fate."

I looked at Walter at that instant and found his eyes completely void; he wasn't upset. With a gasp, I let go of him and watched as he swam away from me. I hated what the sea had told us, and I hated that Walter accepted it with such ease. I wouldn't accept it, but... Walter already had. There was nothing that I could do to change that, or to change the fates that met us both.

When I met my fate... when I felt that sword through my gut and heard Shirley's cries for help... And after then, when I watched in terror as Walter met his fate as well... I knew that the sea had been truthful. We were both ill-fated; together and apart, doomed to begin with. That was why we could never be together in the way that I desired so much.

Who could have predicted that?

**XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX**

Harsh ending, I know, but I really like how this story turned out. If you've taken the time to read this story, then _please_ review! I'd really love to hear any feedback that you have. Until my next story, I bid thee farewell.


End file.
